Nike Air Presto

Back in early 2000, “Shady Milkman” and “Rogue Kielbasa” read more as eccentric menu items than monikers for groundbreaking running shoes. But that was before an irreverent advertising campaign, designed to underscore the disruptive nature of the newly released Nike Air Presto, turned notions of performance footwear on their heads.

The Presto’s original overture may have been cheeky, but the silhouette’s innovation story, which began in Korea four years before, was serious business.

In the year 2000, the sneaker world was kind of a strange place. Many athletic shoes from around the turn of the century were going for a very futuristic approach—just think of the Nike Air Flightposite, adidas Kobe, and even the Air Jordan XV. These are just three of the sneakers from that time period that are unlike anything before them, with much sleeker, streamlined, and often even shrouded silhouettes. This unprecedented and futuristic design language didn’t just fall under the sport of basketball in the Y2K era, as you can see with the sneaker we’re here to talk about today, 2000’s Nike Air Presto. Sure, there’s a bit of the Sock Racer and Air Flow in there, but the Presto took the sock-like idea to a bold and innovative new level.

Designed by Tinker Hatfield’s brother Tobie (also the brains behind Free technology), the Air Presto was marketed as a “t-shirts for your foot”. And that’s basically what they were, right down to the XXS-XL unisex sizing system. Also just like t-shirts, the mesh upper lended itself to a plethora of colors and prints, becoming one of the first shoes to pioneer the now very common graphic-printed trend. Since Y2K, the sleek, simplistic, and ultra-comfortable design has become nothing short of a bona-fide sneaker classic. With the shoe returning yet again this summer, we thought we’d take a look back at some of its greatest releases ever. Continue reading to see the best graphics and colorways to ever hit the famous Air Presto.